Real Deal

Welcome to the best.

Suggested by No Show Joe? Who knows.

I'm starting to wonder just how much time Jordan has spent with Gerald Henderson. He's playing much better than I expected him to play, taking smarter shots and doing all the right things on offense. I can't believe the dude stepped up and hit that clutch three on Miami in that first meeting (was almost 100% sure it was going to Augustin or Diaw), and he's still impressing me. It's just too bad that the Bobcats have no defense, little offense, and no true big man frontcourt to fall back on when times get tough.

Durant just bombed this game. Portland decided to try and shut him down, closed up the paint and put their best defenders on him (Wallace, Batum and Matthews are all capable of giving him trouble), and it worked like a charm. Portland could be a tough out for OKC in the playoffs. They are built well enough to stop them in a series.

I hate his guts, because he's one of the few players I've ever seen that can give Kobe trouble by himself.

Stephen Jackson is HORRIBLE! I have no idea how many times I'll be saying this throughout the year, but I think I could have said it every game so far. Jennings played bad (although not as bad as S-Jax), and without Bogut, it's surprising the Bucks stayed within reach. Can't say many bad things about Utah this game, but they did turn the ball over far too many times. I saw the fourth (usually what I do when I don't pick that particular game to watch on the DVR, and don't have much time to watch it all), and it just seemed as if everything was on the backs of their bigs, and the rest of the team was just lazy, taking bad shots (that still went in from time to time, but it's the Bucks) and turning the ball over. I would've had a hard time watching this game, though. Neither team is exciting.

Okay, as hot as Marcus Thornton has been...well, did anyone watch the game last night? Tony Allen is a bad ass, simple as that. He was as important as the other 4-5 guys that went OFF against the Kings last night (Gasol, Mayo, Young, Gay). Even Conley stepped in and played pretty damn good defense on Evans. Memphis let the three-point line go, though...and Fredette was the one to take advantage of that, haha. You knew it was bound to happen.

That's not a "rip-through" move. http://www.otrbasketball.com/forums/topic/25602-nba-alters-emphasis-on-shooting-fouls You guys attempted 31 threes, a third of your shot attempts. K-Mart was missing open shots, and that included seven missed threes. Did you see Houston's shot chart? It hasn't been updated yet, but it's near the end of the game: http://i43.tinypic.com/ru8ex3.gif You guys are making it sound like Kobe racked up 20 free throw attempts. It's going to suck playing Miami and the Thunder, I see.

A true low post threat. It's that simple, honestly. Zone defenses are created to stop superstars (obviously not a perfect definition, but that's basically it) and there are only two ways to beat a zone: raining threes, or attacking it with a low post threat (one that can facilitate out of the post, that helps) and an excellent post-entry passer.

Play defense correctly, instead of being the 9th worst team in the NBA on that side of the court, and you guys won't pick up so many fouls.

Had to change the topic title a bit, for our Twitter feed. Dupri must think that the Nets are going to give up Brooks and uh...maybe Farmar. Orlando would jump all over that, I bet.

The worst part about this game? Paul Millsap and Carl Landry, two of the most talented players on the floor in this meeting, had 11 total shot attempts tonight.

Need more Jon Leuer. Note to Bucks: stop running plays for Stephen Jackson. He sucks.

Just felt like an off-night for the Thunder. They were playing far too much one-on-one, didn't really come out to play defense, and both Durant and Westbrook were on and off the entire game. Despite Dallas' early troubles in the first few they have played, they will win games by capitalizing on very simple mistakes, and that is exactly what happened. I'd still take OKC in a seven-gamer, almost feels like a fluke loss, but in a compressed season, these types of losses are bad news.

D-Will minimized the turnovers, but still jacked a lot of threes in this game...yet, aside from him and Brooks (and Anthony Morrow, lol), you don't get the feeling anyone really wants to score, as if they fear the rest of the league. Paul George is for real. The dude continues to take smarter shots, improving each game. It's going to be interesting to see him put on some muscle (if he does) and just how he will play at that point. I can see him being an all-star in a few years, maybe even the cornerstone of this franchise.

Just 14 shots for Dwight, against a Pistons team that has nobody that can, even barely, contain him. Trade deadline is in March!

He's finally using the length to his advantage, other than what he did with it in the dunk contest (lol). And WHOA, Greg Stiemsma! He didn't look too bad out there, surprisingly. Gotta hand it to the guy. He was in full control of his game, did what he was supposed to do on the glass, and contributed as good as one could expect. He looked a bit lost on defense, and he wasn't able to really get in there and push his weight around, but with more playing and practicing, he could be a decent backup (won't step out there and say he's a permanent starter yet). Hey Umair, where is John Wall?

The Warriors didn't have an answer for Markieff Morris, which isn't surprising when you consider Biedrins plays like a damn high school bench player out there. Also...where is Klay Thompson? Is he just not getting any burn because of Monta? I'm liking what I see out of B-Rush, still. I'm so glad he's away from the Pacers.

TIME: 1:00 PM ET TV: FOX

TIME: 4:30 PM ET TV: CBS

TIME: 8:00 PM ET TV: NBC

TIME: 4:30 PM ET TV: NBC

Well, a dislocation and a fracture are two different things. I've dislocated my pinkie and index finger on my shooting hand, haha...but when I broke my pinkie, I was done for a while. Now, if I was making millions of dollars a year, in the pros, with incredible trainers and medical staff...maybe I would have tried to play, but you have to be a very damn good shooter to play with a broken finger (any finger) because of the swelling and pain.

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It's a pinkie fracture, the same thing Kobe had (plus, he also had a tear). I don't see why he'll miss much time. You don't use your pinkie to shoot the ball.